Lady Trix
by michi quinn
Summary: Lady Trix is a complicated lady. She's full of vengeful rage and yet fun. But there is more to her than that of course. Things go wrong for her in Gotham and she changes. Or does she just wake up to who she really is? (Lady Trix is my own character so is in all rights mine. But I don't own any official DC Characters)
1. Chapter 1 - Dolly

CHAPTER 1

_-DOLLY-_

_..._

A girl was standing watching seagulls soaring through the sky, she was 8 and mesmerised by the swift way they moved with such grace and yet purpose of where they were going.

She sat down on the sand not taking her eyes off them, smiling with a dream like expression. She was so happy, so content.

Then she woke up.

A cough came as she breathed, black was all around her. It was moving everywhere.

Smoke! Dense smoke was surrounding her, the woman dived to the floor and her arms took her weight as she crawled army style to where she thought by instinct was the door.

Why was there no alarm? The smoke detector should of at least gone off surely?

The crawl seemed endless and she didn't know how she would ever get down the stairs without swallowing more smoke. She needed to cover her mouth as well, at this she took off her top and tried to desperately rip it so she had something to cover her mouth with. It was always easier in the films wasn't it? Not here though, not in reality. The fabric wouldn't rip, she gave up and shoved it back on as quick as she could but being on the floor wasn't helping this.

It was when she started to crawl back to her room she thought she would die soon. She thought the flames would get to her soon, a tear left her eye and she came across something soft with her fist. It was her cuddly toy rabbit, the instinct to save it along with herself grew largely. She put the ear of the rabbit in her mouth so she could carry it that way. After a few minutes, coughing every now and then she reached the wall. The woman snaked her hand up the wall to feel for the window sill and hit it with her finger tips.

This was it, now or never. Quick or death.

She shoved the body of the bunny in her mouth as a gag to stop the smoke and breathed in through her nose with a deep breath. Holding that breath in her lungs she stood, fumbled for the window latch across the pane, swung it open and threw herself out to the hedge below.

She scrambled out the hedge, thorns scratching her legs through her pj bottoms. Clinging to dear life to her rabbit like a child, she gasped and took a step back.

Standing before her, black as the night. It was him. Batman of Gotham. The one who didn't save her or her parents a week ago.

Batman the murderer.

...

"Miss Diamond? Miss Diamond are you listening?" A female police officer was sat in front of her, trying to get her attention.

Risa Diamond was looking down at the table, dragging her fingernail over and over an indent in the wood. Smiling to herself and she finally looked up with a sigh.

"Did you hear what I just said Miss?" The police woman nudged her verbally again.

"Yes, yes I did" She sat back in the chair and narrowed her eyes at the officer.

"I think Miss Diamond has been through quite enough today" A woman standing in the corner spoke loudly. The lady stepped over to the table, lent over with palms facing down on it and looked sharply at the officer.

"Yes, but she also has assaulted two officers!" The policewoman bit back and banged her hand on the table.

Risa tried to hold back a smile as best she could, looking down at her nails and the blood that stained a few of them. She vaguely remembered dragging her nails across an officers face. It was the feeling of ripping the skin that she remembered, also the raw anger that lead to a form of release in the end. Risa didn't remember the persons reaction to it or what she saw as she did it.

"She was in shock, she just came out of a building on fire. Her home. I don't think she knew what she was doing. Stress does strange things to people" The lady defended her yet again.

She turned her head to Risa, with sympathy in her eyes and all Risa did was watch the ladies ID tag that dangled from her neck swing back and forth.

"Risa, do you remember anything. Even hurting anyone?" The lady asked with a gentle tone, trying to gain her attention.

Risa snapped back to reality, she chose her words carefully and her body language changed. Putting a hand to her mouth, she frowned, swallowed and looked at the Doctor before her.

"No, only smoke and trying to get out" Her voice shook as she spoke.

"And anything after that?" The Doctor asked her softly.

"No nothing" Risa looked as confused as she could muster.

But she remembered, not all of it of course. But the rage, the beauty of lunging at the unexpected officers and the empowerment it gave her. The freedom was wonderful.

The Doctor was walking her out the room now, guiding her with an arm behind her back. Risa wasn't taking in anything else said by anyone around her. She was going back to memories of feeling that freedom. It was only a few minutes that passed when she realised she was outside the Gotham City Police Department.

"Miss Diamond, do you want a taxi?'' The Doctor asked and Risa jumped a little.

"No, I think I'll walk. I really need the air" She replied matter of factly and patted the Doctor's arm. "I'll be fine. Also the paramedic checked me over. All I have to do according to them is go to the hospital if I feel ill"

"Really! They should be caring more than that! Come to my office tomorrow and I'll check you over myself. Where will you be staying? A friends?" The Doctor started showing great concern.

This isn't what she wanted. The concern, badgering her and smothering. Risa nodded silently.

"Well...when you get a good night sleep call me tomorrow and I will slot you in no matter what. They also found you're handbag near your front door" The Doctor handed out a card to her and her bag.

Risa took the card reluctantly from her, shouldered her bag and slipped the card into a pocket inside it.. She walked away , down the street until she reached the corner of a building, turned down it and just halted in her steps. She turned to look at some graffiti on the wall. It was a huge black bat, spray painted not with perfection though. Obviously sprayed quickly due to the Police being so close.

Risa felt sick, her stomach churned and she felt something she never felt before. A rage was all you could describe it as, she yelled at the top of her lungs regardless of those around her. People reacted differently, a mother pulled her child to the other side of the road, a man stopped and stared at her. Then another man asked if she was ok.

"Fine, just fine" Risa said. "Better than ever" She added and smiled.

Risa reached into her bag, fumbling for something and laughed when she reached it. But that wasn't why she laughed, it was because the man made a mistake. He put his hand on her shoulder, she looked at him straight in the eyes and glared. Immediatly he backed away and she relaxed a little. She saw it in his eyes, she knew straight away under it all that this wasn't just concern. The way he flicked his eyes over her, was it paranoia that made her think he wasn't just showing concern? No, something behind that look had more to it. He mumbled something at her under his breath, moving on from her. She recognised him in an instance. That was it, she followed him slowly and careful. It was as if the predator in her just rose to the surface.

She mentally told herself this was natural. Nature shouldn't be interferred with, it should be embraced and let grow.

Everytime her feet moved forward another step, she felt her heart beat rising like a tide.

He reached a door, pushed through it and Risa stopped outside it. She rose on her tiptoes to see through the window pane on the door and saw a blurred image of the man walking up some stairs that were right opposite the small entrance way. Risa blinked a few times, turned so her back was against the door and closed her eyes.

"What am I doing?" She questioned herself out loud. "What I have to" She replied to herself.

Her eyes opened again, she turned the handle on the door and she cursed when it didn't nudge. A security lock, she looked around the door in despair and saw a buzzer system. A small smile creeped across her lips, she pressed a button, then another and finally someone answered.

"Who is it?" An old man's voice spoke.

Perfect, absolutely perfect. Risa vanished her smile and coughed.

"I left my keys in my apartment, I'm locked out. It's freezing out here. Can you let me in?" She tried her best to sound pathetic.

No response.

"Oh please! You know what this place is like when a young girl is on her own" She wobbled her voice.

She never was good at acting, he'd never believe her. The fun was over and she turned away from the door with an outward breath. The buzzer went, she heard a click and rushed to the door. Risa turned the handle in excitement, the door pushed open with an effortless swing. For a moment she took in the smell of dust, candles that had been blown out and tabacco. Rushing up the stairs, she was feeling a sort of thrill.

He was there, putting his key in the lock, he turned it and in his other hands was his post. The timing was perfect, he had collected his post by the looks of it. Fate.

"You asked if I was ok?" Risa asked loudly and he jumped.

He was wide eyed, dropped the letters he held in a flustered manner and she watched as they floated leaves to the floor.

"Yes" He finally replied picking up the envelopes. "You startled me, do-do you live here?"

"Wow" She spoke in a sigh. She stepped closer to him, on tiptoe, she was now nose to nose with him. "You don't remember me do you?" She purred at him with a smile.

Risa grabbed the door handle behind her, pushed the door open and walked backwards into his apartment. She giggled as he smiled at her, he followed with ego plastered on his face. There it was, he changed completely. This wasn't a normal man, a sweet caring man, a helpful man and she knew him, the sickness within him.

"I don't remember you I'm sure I would of" He said with far too much of a sleazy manner.

Of course he wouldn't remember, she walked to the door and closed it. He didn't even react, he strolled into another room as if she wasn't even there and this to her was again typical. The ego, the sickness.

She walked around, searching for something. For an object that just had to be somewhere.

"Where is it?" She muttered to herself.

Of course. He returned, there it was in his hand, the blade and she glanced at it as if it was nothing. He looked down at it with mock laughter and put it on the coffee table.

"I always forget to put a knife down after I'm cutting vegetables. I don't know why" He smiled, laughing again as if it was the real reason. As if this was all true. Liar.

He walked to the window, turning the blind toggle slowly with a smile on his face.

Risa slowly moved to the coffee table, tracing a finger around the knife as if outlining it and she grasped the handle. She looked to him, there he was still closing the blinds, moment by moment and she wanted to laugh. Risa had found her moment, her stomach churned at the smirk on his face and it was time.

Slowly walking towards him, it was her turn to smirk and before he knew what was happening the blade was at his throat. He released his grip on the toggle and tried to move. She pressed the point of the blade into his neck, breaking the skin and yelped.

"Oh I'm sorry did that hurt?" She mocked him, with her mouth to his ear and she drew back from him a few steps.

He turned, it was too late for him. This was perfection, she thrust the blade into his side with rage and pleasure. All he did was stare at her, mouth opened like a fish.

"This time I plunge into you" Risa roared, withdrawing the knife from his side and then plunging it into his stomach.

He stumbled backwards into the window, his hand on his side went to his stomach and he stared at the knife.

Risa moved slowly towards him like a cat on the prowl, she tilted her head at him with another smirk. When she reached him she pressed a few of her fingers into his side wound and removed the knife from his stomach. He stared at her still, she looked into his eyes and every bit of rage disappeared.

"Speechless? You had alot to say before" Risa seemed bored and glanced at the bloody knife in her hand. She watched the blood dripping off it and found herself in a trance.

His blood finally stopped dripping off and she then looked at him. The pitiful creature before her, so weak and so victim like.

"You did alot before" Risa said, her smile had gone and she sat next to him. "I was just a doll to you, I bled still the same" She sang.

"You are... insane" The man managed to speak.

"That rhyme's" She giggled. She sang again. "I was just a doll to you, I bled still the same. You may think I'm insane. But you are to blame. I was just a doll to you..." She paused and stood up in front of him. "On that night you used this very blade, you could of got a prostitute if you wanted to get laid" She stopped staring him in the eyes and continued singing. "But that's how you saw me anyway, I guess this is my time to get paid".

Risa stepped towards him, she saw him trembling and just laughed. It was a hollow laugh, but a laugh of triumph and felt powerful to her. With his hands protecting his face, she plunged the knife into different parts of his body over and over. She counted ten, it was ten o'clock when she looked at her watch that night just before he grabbed her. She still remembered it, ten for ten o'clock, with the blade against her neck, the dust, the tabacco stench, the smell of candles just blown out, the key, the closing of the blinds, the coffee table.

"Perfection" She yelled and stared at him as he lay dying in a heap. She leant over him and put her mouth to his ear. "How does it feel to have someone force themselves on you. How does it feel, every plunge like a cut?" She laughed at him, suddenly he was still with eyes empty. "Goodnight dolly" She patted his head.

Walking away she felt on auto pilot, she went to his kitchen and looked for a carrier bag. Finding some in a drawer she put the bloody knife in several and glanced at the worksurface next to her.

"Well would you look at that you were cutting vegetables after all" Risa picked up a piece of raw carrot, popped it in her mouth and opened the door that lead to the fire escape.

Risa went into the night, but she wasn't Risa anymore.


	2. Chapter 2 - Fallen from Grace

**CHAPTER 2**

_-Fallen from Grace-_

_..._

The rain was falling, just as it normally did in Gotham. Well to Risa it was always pouring or cloudy in this god forsaken place. She was leaning with her arms on the window sill, head tilted and it laying across her gloved hands. They were fingerless neon pink and black striped gloves, her favourite pair.

She was watching birds in the sky, soaring with freedom and grace. A tear trickled down her face. Earlier she was so happy after her emotional release that the revenge on the man gave her. but everything had changed for her, she couldn't go home and she realised it now. To her Risa was still in the house, in the fire and she wasn't here at all. In all logic that was stupid really, she found herself laughing slightly but without any joy.

She stood and walked across the wooden flooring with hardily any sound due to her white converse shoes. If it was waxed it would of made them squeak but they looked bare and untreated.

Risa had ridiculously decided in the night she would collect some more things from her house, the gloves being one and converses another. She grabbed some other things as well but at the moment they were in a dark purple duffle bag, sat in the corner untouched. She couldn't bare touching anything yet, it was bad enough breaking into the house itself. Yes her own house was boarded up, some windows had been wrecked by the looks of it and she wondered if muggers had tried to enter it.

Her zone, her place of refuge had been entered! For her it was time for a new home. She couldn't go back there not when it had been violated.

Risa looked to her duvet that was laid out in the another corner of the room, the duvet was what she had slept on in the early hours this morning. She admitted it wasn't very comfortable but it beat laying on the floor itself which was dusty and without a carpet.

Then she looked at the soft toy rabbit she had tucked under the blankets and finally smiled with emotion. The poor thing, it looked so dirty! The pale pink fur was still showing but boy was it grey in alot of places and she went over to pick it up.

There was then a loud bang, she jumped and automatically hugged the rabbit in her hands. Creeping to the main door, she put her ear against it and listened intently. All she heard was footsteps walking away down the corridor behind the door and someone talking. Either they were talking to themselves or on a phone she couldn't tell in all honesty. Until she heard the man speak properly at the end she couldn't make out what he said.

"I'll see you soon. Alright, OK. I love you. I NEED to go" He spoke it all in a huff and said the I love you very begrudgingly.

She then heard more footsteps fade away and the slam of another door.

Risa padded over to the duvet, she sat on it cross legged and clutched the rabbit still in her hands. She creased her eyes shut, holding back tears but failed. They came slowly as she lay down on the duvet in a fetal position. She sobbed into the purple cushion below her face to hide the sounds.

"Some people have no respect for love" She spoke out loud in between sobbing.

What she'd give to love again, to feel that embrace, to hear some words of real emotion over a phone call. To experience the smiles, the laughter and the tears. Some had it so lucky and it burned her. Yet she saw it every day couples that were arguing, people taking others for granted and here she was just wanting to have love itself again.

Risa crawled over to the duffle bag, trying not to sob and unzipped the main compartment. She started rifling through the bag, she threw a few pieces of clothing on the floor to move them out the way.

She found it. There he was and she stared at him. She picked up the photo in both her hands, stroking the glass and tears streamed down her face. Her eyes held so much pain as she looked at him and then she placed a kiss over his lips on the photo. But that just brought her to sobs that came on so strong that she couldn't fight them.

She heard his laughter, saw his smile as if it was yesterday and his voice echoed in her head. She wanted him back, she wanted those days were she'd sit with him and discuss absolute nonsense until the early hours. Where it was just them and the world melted away. They would stumble outside having no sleep, heading to the local shop to buy of all things: sweets. Just like children, it would always be a bag of pick and mix sweets. Every time he bought sherbet flying saucers just to see her face cringe as he ate them. Once he even sneaked one in a cupcake, that he said he accidentally broke. This wasn't an accident of course, he ripped a section out and stuck the sherbet flying saucer in it and sat watching her. He started moving off the brick wall next to her when she bit into it and giggled like a child when he saw that face of disgust on her. She remembered shouting his name, throwing the cake on the floor and tried not to laugh as she chased after him down the street. She'd always laugh, because that's the way he was. He was an idiot like that, anything for a laugh and to get a reaction from her. All out of innocence and she was easy to wind up anyway.

Risa actually found herself smiling as she remembered it, she could almost feel the taste of the sherbet mixed with chocolate cake in her mouth from that day. Placing the photo back in the bag and shoving the clothing in.

She looked around at her surroundings. It had all gone wrong for her since the day he was taken from her. That is when it all began really, she has fallen from grace since then. Things just seemed to get worse rather than better and here she was even more alone. Sat in an empty, unused apartment, that smelt of dust and cheap air freshener.

Risa knew she couldn't stay here for long, squatting here was just a situation she had wandered into really. She was scared and tired when she found this place. The only way she knew it was available was when she walked up the metal stair case outside a window. She saw it was boarded up and found a crack which she looked through. And finding nothing was in it, no furnishings and she decided it was perfect. She was going to sleep on the stair case away from the ground of the city or even try to sleep on the roof top.

Now however this didn't seem so perfect, she felt trapped now it was daylight because she couldn't leave in case she was seen leaving. If leaving was going to happen she'd have to take all her things with her. In daylight this wasn't a good plan.

Risa found herself slowly pacing the floor now, thinking at a very fast speed and words started shouting in her head amongst her thinking. Words in this order: Idiot, dimwit, freak, murderer. Kill. Kill yourself. Kill them all!

Soon she was sat by the toilet feeling very sick and holding her head in her hands. This wasn't a new experience she always had this every now and then. It'd happen out the blue but sometimes it was triggered by something. Figuring out what made this happen and what didn't wasn't exactly easy and even her shrink told her to keep a diary, that she never remembered to write in the first place.

Standing up as the nausea subsided and pacing the floor again this time without words being shouted from somewhere, she then decided what to do with herself. Risa walked over to her abandoned soft toy rabbit and smiled at it lovingly. She stroked it's fur on it's head like it was real and sighed.

"You need a bath badly Candyfluff" She spoke to it like a friend and skipped to the sink in the bathroom.

She stood wide eyed over the sink, realising what she had done and listened hard. Worrying someone may of heard the taps of her feet on the floorboards. Freezing in place for a few minutes, she found herself shrugging it off and slowly turning the tap.

"Please have water" She prayed looking up at the ceiling.

She spied some cowebs and heard the water running after the noise of the air pushing through was over.

"Success!" She punched the air and stared at the dried up piece of soap.

She gave a disgusted expression, trotted off to fetch some shower gel out her duffle, drenched the bunny under the tap and rubbed a very small amount of the gel all over the bunny. She was humming as she scrubbed it with her hands and was actually enjoying herself. Risa took in a breath of the pineapple smell from the shower gel as she was cleaning the rabbit and started singing a kids cartoon theme tune about a sponge living inside a pineapple under the sea. She cleaned off the first load of suds, repeated the gel and clean offs about three times and she decided that was enough. Candyfluff the rabbit looked finally more it's pale pink self and her hands were somewhat black so washed her own hands

She was giggling to herself when wringing the water out of the rabbit with her hands and then sat the rabbit in-between the taps.

"Gee don't you look damn sorry for yourself" She commented as Candyfluff, looked shrunken, limp and of course dripping wet.

She hummed under her breath when it occurred she could do with a wash herself but using the shower would be too noisy.

Then there was a huge bang, this time inside the apartment and she nearly jumped out her skin.

"Who is in here?" A man yelled with a gruff voice.

Risa cursed under her breath, she knelt down and put her hand in her sock. Pulling out a pen knife from the black and purple long stripey sock. She was quick enough to flick the blade out as the man entered and she stood stock still. She couldn't breathe for a moment, when she looked at the old man before her she thought of her grandad. He was holding a walking stick in his hand like a weapon and she smiled.

"Kid what are you doing with that knife?" He asked in shock. "It isn't for me is it?"

Risa tried to keep herself together, she thought the best course of action was to act victim and see how it went.

"I thought who ever it was would" She swallowed on purpose. "Hurt me"

The old man lowered the stick in his hand to the floor, he shook his head and muttered something under his breath.

"Why are you here? You do know this is illegal kid" He tried to sound angry but she could see the concern in his eyes.

Eyes always give people away unless someone was really good at pretending they were feeling something else. The fact he called her a kid was irritating her but played him into her hands. He saw her as more young and innocent than she was, so she can use this to her advantage easily.

"I know it's just my house the other day was on fire and I had no where to go" It's not as if she was lying really but she held back the fact she had disposed of someone last night and she just slept here due to ease.

She felt upset really, tears formed in her eyes. The man before her sighed, he cast his eyes to the wall and then shuffled onto his right leg which was his strongest she guessed.

Risa thought she'd push it that extra mile just in curiosity how he would respond.

"I don't even want to go back in all honesty, it's a difficult choice to make. Being in a house that was lit on fire by someone else and wondering if they would do it again" Risa spoke with a wobble to her voice. She was half and half with this feeling, wasn't sure if going back was best or staying else where from now on. Both of these ideas had pros and cons. Risa felt slightly uncomfortable because she was opening up to this complete stranger and she looked towards Candyfluff the toy rabbit with a look of apology and this made the old man raise an eyebrow to her.

To make the situation less awkward and her seem safer to him. Risa put his mind at rest with a simple sentence.

"It's an old toy of mine from when I was a kid, it's making me think of my times in the house"

This was of course a lie, after all Candyfluff was very new and not from her childhood. She also had no childhood memories in that house because she never grew up there and all she was doing was playing with his emotions. She preferred talking to Candyfluff because he wouldn't judge her and was a great listener. Unlike some humans and not forgetting animals could be better company.

She decided to go further with what she said.

"It's such a big house for one person as well" She was trying to come across lonely to him.

Was she lonely? Sometimes but sometimes not, it was as always complicated.

She knew where she wanted to lead him and did her best to put on a heart broken smile and make him pity her more. She was heartbroken of course as she lost her family but currently she was feeling really numb inside.

"Well if you feel that way you could use this place, it's open for renting. You already should know from it being empty" The man chuckled a little.

Yeah this is what she wanted, this response from him. She then had an option to stay in her own home, all paid for by herself and yet stay somewhere else. Also with the amount of money she had at the moment she could have both. She had gained inheritance money from her family that could keep her comfortable for months upon months. Risa started to feel sad and pushed her thoughts back to the man with her.

She focused on the fact she was intrigued and entertained by how she had manipulated him with such ease. Risa was finding it very amusing and smiled to herself with a small sly little grin. The elderly gentleman looked at her with a quizzed expression until she made her smile a more genuine one. She didn't want him to think of her as anything but innocent because it played him into her hands nicely this way.

"So if I wanted to move in..." Risa began and left the sentence open for him to add to it or answer.

"Yes, yes you could move in any day from now. But the day you move in you have to sign the tenancy" The man spoke with a warming smile but still kept authority in his voice.

"Thank you, that would be brilliant. I'll think it over for a few days sir" She replied.

She picked up Candyfluff, opened her bag in the living room and wrapped him in a towel. Placed the wrapped bunny in the bag, collected her other items left around the apartment and sighed when the black bin bag had a rip in it when she tried to place her duvet and blankets in.

"Come down stairs, I can get you another bag" The man offered kindly.

Risa nodded in response to this offer, slung her purple duffle round her and gathered up the duvet in her hands. The elderly man took the blankets under one arm to help her and they made there way down the stair case. Risa took the blankets in the end as he was struggling and him falling down the stairs to her would be a nightmare to deal with. When they reached the bottom floor, the man was out of breath but continued to the office and came back out with a bin liner. Risa took it with thanks and said her fair well to him.

All bundled up with her things she made the dreaded walk to her house. She didn't know if this would be a good idea or not but she had to see if home was best or beginning a new.


	3. Chapter 3 - Devilish

CHAPTER 3

-Devilish-

...

The taxi had already gone but she stood staring at the house in front of her for a few minutes. It took until night fall for her to even get the courage to return to the house. Courage and four cups of hot chocolate at a cafe she came across.

A sense of dread came upon her as she walked up to the door, the front door had been secured by the police so she decided to go round to the back door instead. She passed a few boarded up windows, this sparked some nausea in her. It was certain someone must of entered the house at this point or kids had thrown stones at the windows maybe?

It seemed worse to be here again. She had been before to collect things but was in a complete daze but this time she was more coherent. She remembered vaguely wandering into the house to get her things and not really paying attention to very much. Wasn't sure if she could remember entering the front door or not really.

Risa with a trembling hand put her key in the lock, she found that it was already unlocked and swung the door open. Taking a deep breath she entered kitchen, looking around the fire hadn't touched this part of the house. This confused her, she thought the whole downstairs would be torched due to the fire but it was fine some how. Maybe due to the kitchen door being closed perhaps?

Risa's tummy growled as she placed all her bags on the work surface and she shook her head to dismiss her hunger as she looked away from the fridge. She walked to the hallway, you could see smoke damage and the floor was covered in blackness. Risa rounded to the stairs, at the bottom was ashes and she rubbed some between her fingers.

"It's where the fire started. Miss Diamond" She heard the explanation in a deep voice from the living room doorway.

She froze, pure hatred filled her and she felt sick. With out even looking his way she spoke to him.

"What exactly are you doing in my house?" Risa calmly asked him and rubbed the dust onto her black boot-cut jeans.

"I'm here to investigate the fire, this has to be stopped. It may happen to more people" He replied.

She cleared her throat, her hands were in fists and she dug her nails into the palms. She had to fuel the anger inside somehow without showing it to him and she stood up. Looking up to the stairs, seeing all the fire damage leading upwards she walked up each step slowly seeing more debris like at the bottom and it stopped in the hallway. The fire just seemed to go from there naturally towards her bedroom which was opposite the top of the stairs.

"They lit several fires from the top of the stairs, to the bottom" Risa thought out loud as she stood just before her bedroom door.

"Yes" He now appeared beside her and she frowned to herself.

She didn't like this. How dare he be here when it is all too late. How could he talk to her let alone be here? She was so angry, she could lash out at him right now but she kept composed in her body language and avoided eye contact. She flicked her eyes over him quickly to see the so called impressive Batman that she was told that brought justice to Gotham. It was lies to her there was no justice.

Risa stepped into her bedroom and it looked as though this place was also untouched. She assumed the fire was stopped by the firemen before this point. But you could see some smoke had entered the room and looked like dust on the floor.

"You were lucky to escape" Batman said.

Risa slowly turned on the spot.

"Lucky?" She said and smiled with a nervous twitch on the right side of her mouth.

The Batman stood silently as she said this to him, he never moved even as she walked slowly towards him. Risa looked up at him with a piercing glare.

"My family died! Did you forget? No thanks to you or the pigs" She continued but this time she was showing her emotions.

Her body shook in anger and she tapped her right foot on the ground. Her head felt like it was pulsing all over and she poked a finger at his chest.

"You knew about this. I told you" She yelled at him. "Was there any point to me climbing up to that stupid bat light thing to talk to you? Any point of me doing something that dangerous or was I wasting my time?"

Risa paused as he said nothing, he turned and walked away from her down the stairs. She followed him down with her anger increasing.

"Actually don't bother answering that! I know the answer! No point! No point at all! You ignored me completely!" She spat again as she trotted behind him to the living room. "You are ignoring me now as well! I was trying to tell you something important back then"

Batman was searching around the room for something she wasn't sure of but this made her frustration with him build an extra mile. But he turned to her as she came towards him again from behind.

"I was trying to make sure you weren't arrested Risa" The Bat spoke calmly.

"Excuse me? Don't call me by my first name. You don't even know me!" Risa was trying to keep herself calm and it was taking a lot.

That voice crept into her head. Hit him! Kill him! Do it!

She took a breath, stepped back from him and sat down on her fake black leather sofa. Her head in her hands, she began to cry and when she looked up he was gone. Risa hoped he left the house, she then looked above her electric fireplace and above the mantel was huge red spray painted words: DEAD!

Next to it was an X symbol bigger than the dead word and it had a small s letter above the X.

She rose from the sofa feeling angered again, strode into each room looking for Batman and returned to her bedroom when she finally gave up.

Risa sat for a little while on the bed, staring at the floor in a daze and her head was chattering on. She wiped a tear that was on her cheek with her gloved hand and softened the lump that had gathered in her throat. She decided she was going to place her emotions to the back of her mind for a while and trotted down the stairs to lock the back door.

Putting her hand on her hips, Risa sighed and thought it was time to clean up the mess left by the fire because she had to do something with her anger right now. This was the best and only option she could think of. So the tedious task of sweeping and mopping was done after a few hours. The mop was filthy black and would have to be binned. The house started to smell like a home again, but she felt uneasy just being in it.

This vulnerability was not what Risa liked, but she would have to sleep on it and think all this through. Right now she felt some night air would help and a good walk was needed.

Unzipping the duffle bag Risa pulled out her three quarter length, black, leather coat, her white converses stood out like a sore thumb with the coat being black and her jeans. She told herself now wasn't the time for being superficial and she couldn't be bothered to walk upstairs again. Perhaps it was more the fact she feared returning to the room where she woke up in terror than anything.

She contemplated this for just a few seconds. Risa ran up the stairs tugged off her jeans and red t shirt. Replaced them with vinyl fake leather jeans, threw on a dark purple, velour vest top and put on some leather ankle boots. Then walked to her bathroom, sprayed herself with way too much perfume and put on a small amount makeup very quickly. When finished with this, she looked in the mirror thinking that at least she didn't look as awful as she felt. Or smell as bad as before either.

She went down stairs to her duffle, grabbed a lighter, her wallet and mobile phone from it . She exited her house with the filthy mop in her hand as well. Chucked the mop near the bins and made them clang. She locked up the house and hoped that no one would do anything to it whilst she was gone.

Risa took in some of the night air, it wasn't exactly fresh air but it was outside air none the less.

She was probably making a mistake but she decided she needed a drink, a strong drink of alcohol regardless of her hunger pains and knew drinking on an empty stomach was bad. But still she made her way to the place her feet carried her.

...

The music was creating a small noticeable pulse in her veins, that combined with the alcohol made her feel a tiny bit powerful. Risa also was calming down a bit inside her mind, just moving to the beat and smiling to herself. A few people were around her but when she swayed her head and let her chocolate brown hair fly around they soon gave her space. The magic of head banging and the way it causes others to give you room was something she always liked. It kept a lot of men distant from her which was even more likable.

Most men that is, until now when someone had decided to tap her on the shoulder.

Risa slowly flicked her head up from head banging, turned her head to the right to see if it was someone she knew and much to her annoyance it wasn't.

"Here we go" She muttered to herself and tried to focus on him but her vision was a tad blurry due to the head banging.

"I like that thing you do with your hair" The man spoke and she blinked at him.

She forced a sweet smile at him and said thank you. She continued head banging as if he wasn't still next to her with his eyes transfixed like a hawk. After a little while another tap was on her shoulder, her eyes snapped open and she rolled her eyes. Lifting her head again she looked at him like he was clearly interrupting her. Well he was, he was interrupting her having fun on the dance floor and being silent.

He did that thing that some do, try to pretend to look at the floor with nerves but clearly swept eyes over her legs covered in tight pvc vinyl. If it wasn't that it'd be boobs or her bum.

Risa was more than irritated already with him, he clearly wasn't here for conversation. The man fiddled with the neck of his white shirt, she found this amusing. Two can play at this game and she decided to openly inspect him with a grin and it made him embarrassed. He was good looking in terms of: the male you 'should' be attracted to, along the lines of celebrity looking good or model. Not her type basically just an ordinary, boring man and probably an office worker who came out for a drink tonight. In a club he obviously didn't frequent much as he had no idea her hair swishing was head banging.

He could be a nice guy she supposed but from what she discovered that was usually a front and under was a sick man. A man of disgust and Risa was now interested because of that.

What did he want? If he wanted what she thought then he was being a fool. Men like him never learned, you don't chat a woman up just to get into her knickers. You talk to her like she's a human being, be friends with her but even then she doesn't owe you anything. Especially her body. This was how she felt about the typical straight male who was after a one night stand.

Maybe this guy could entertain her. She was very curious now and decided to let him pay for a drink at the bar.

After a few uncomfortable minutes of some silence Risa decided to ask what she wanted to all along.

"Where do you work?" She asked with a casual tone and sipped on her can of fizzy drink.

"Gotham City Bank" He replied and started shifting in his seat.

Risa noticed he had started that unfortunate moment where he was not just looking at her legs but other parts of her.

"Fantastic" She said looking up at the ceiling.

The man looked at her with raised eyebrows and laughed.

She didn't realise that she spoke it out loud to him and kept calm.

"Not a bad job but the pay cheque is good. Had no robberies for a while" He said his voice shock a little.

A robbery at the bank, how interesting this was to her.

"So... Kurt. Who was it?" Risa said leaning in towards him and then shuffling next to him more with a smile.

He looked surprised at the way she was moving closer to him, he fiddled with his bottle of alcohol in his hand.

"It was a gang. Not sure who, they had black balaclava's on" He explained.

"I bet you were brave though, guy like you" She purred in his ear, the guy swallowed. "Did they get away with the money?"

"Well, I... I didn't hide if that's...what you mean" Kurt replied his voice was a little jumpy. "They got away from the cops with a case of money, they make it too easy. They took a hostage when they have a hostage they always get away with it. Unless The Bat is there"

Risa smiled, she pulled the bottle from his hand and placed it on the table. A song came on that she liked and she dragged him onto the dance floor against his will.

This was all part of her trying to get closer to him due to the bank, she really wasn't interested in him. But he sure was and he wanted to be intimate. You could see it in the way his body moved, the way he looked at her and not at her face most of the time they danced.

Risa was a good dancer, she didn't have to try very hard to make him smile as she swayed to the music and then she noticed a girl near her. She was a girl because she looked younger than Risa probably not even legal to enter the club she thought. The girl was looking at her in disgust, flicked her blonde hair from her face in a typical huffy fashion and giving her a scowling look.

"I think someone's jealous!" Risa laughed in Kurt's ear.

"She was talking to me at the bar" Kurt replied and his mouth curled a smile.

She turned her back to him and danced against him that way. She was staring the girl down with a wicked grin. This wasn't the way Risa would normally act around men, but she needed to. This man was interesting for one reason: the bank. She needed to make him interested in her and draw him in. He was making it too easy but that wasn't her problem that was his.

The dance floor had got very busy now and a few songs had passed. Heavy metal or eighties and nighties rock playing always brought alot of people onto the dance-floor.

The blonde girl seemed to be trying some kind of dance off with her for a few songs which Risa found amusing. The girl looked far too naive, too inexperienced and Risa kicked it up to the highest notch just to see a reaction. She faced Kurt, slinked her body down to the floor slowly, swaying with the beat, bending her legs more and more until in a crouch. When she reached to face Kurt's crotch height she looked up at him with a devilish look and he looked completely flustered. She moved her way up again not taking eye contact off him and came face to face with him. The space between him and her mouth wasn't very much, in fact it was barely a centimeter. She felt his breath escape his lips, he tilted his head slightly as if inviting a kiss and he closed his eyes as she did.

Risa snapped hers back open to see his closed and waiting for her.

"Not today, but I know where you work" She whispered in his ear.

After saying that she moved back from him and disappeared into the crowd as fast she could. He'd be interested now, he'd want more maybe and that sort of made her happy. She liked playing this cat and mouse with him tonight. It entertained her because she knew he wouldn't get anything from her, he expected it and that's where it was his problem not hers. Because as she always thinks: You can't expect something from a woman it's her decision not yours.

But she had never done this before, she felt slightly empowered by it. A man wasn't making her feel like she was meat, she was creating an illusion and it was very funny to her.

...

Risa was making her way past a take away she knew, the smell drew her in and she took out her wallet. Just about to make an order with a very grumpy looking man over the counter and she then saw blonde hair next to her.

"You are a slut" The girl said, she was drunk by just her voice.

Risa looked at the girl's eye makeup smudged under her eyes, lipstick poorly placed on and she stank of alcohol with a hint of sweat. She focused on her face a bit more and it came back to her. This was the girl in the club.

"Can you step back a bit please, you stink" Risa put up her hand between both of them and slowly pushed her away.

Risa could never stand the stench of alcohol on anyone. It sparked some memories she'd rather forget.

She then turned to place her order, quite happily, paid for the food to come and she sat down on a plastic chair whilst the blonde girl was staring at her the whole time sitting at a table. The girl was eating some rice with a plastic fork, not really taking notice of the amount she dropped before it reached her mouth and was scowling.

"In all honesty, I'm not a slut as you can see I didn't leave with the dude" Risa spoke and gestured to the chair next to her that was empty.

"Yeah, you act like one" The girl spat back at her.

Risa laughed it off and sat in silence about five minutes past and she forgot the girl was even there.

"Got his number?" The girl asked with some rice now stuck on her chin.

"Do you want it?" She said calmly in reply.

Risa looked up at the men who worked in the take away. They looked at both of them, one to the other and had expressions of worry as though they were desperate a fight wasn't going to break out. One man moved himself near the phone attached to the wall and pretended he was just standing to jot something on a pad.

"What?" The girl shouted at her.

"I said do you want his number?" Risa repeated, she stood as a man put a bag on the counter and said it was hers.

Saying a polite thank you and left. But the blonde clearly hadn't finished this conversation because Risa could hear her muttering behind her and she turned down an alley on purpose to hopefully lose her. Risa had walked quite a way down and turned a bend that went to the right. She quickly snapped round to see the girl look a bit shocked and stop in her tracks nearly tripping over in the process.

"You're on your own and drunk. You're stupid" Risa said with a mocking laugh.

"Well... you are. You... you alone too" The girl pointed at Risa with a drunk waving hand.

Risa was bored now, she wanted to be home and eating or on a bench eating. She walked down the alley way a little more, hearing the girl following her still and as she was about to sprint the girl was next to her. Risa wasn't exactly threatened she was irritated and just wanted to be alone. She had things to do, ideas to put together and didn't want some little girl in her way. She was in a state of thinking and eating not arguing.

The girl grabbed her arm. Big mistake for her because Risa pushed her with one hand to the wall and instead of the girl seeing this as a warning she grabbed her again on the arm as Risa stepped away. Risa immediately dropped the bag of food in her hand to the floor and stared ahead in fury. She turned on the spot grabbed the girls neck with her right hand and pushed her against the wall with full force. Of course the girl was drunk so naturally she was clumsy and not really in the position to be attacking anyone.

"So you're after a fight slut?" The blonde choked out under Risa's hand grasp.

The girl tried to stamp on Risa's foot, but she had steel toe cap boots on and it didn't do a thing. Risa pretended to react with a noise of fake pain, stumbled back and saw the blonde moving away from the wall. She then crouched, pretending to touch her foot, slipping her hand into the boot she removed her trusty penknife. It was a small thing but it would do as a threat and the girl would be gone.

Risa stood up slowly, watching the girl who looked ridiculous with her fists up waiting to punch her and Risa flicked the knife. The blonde looked down at the blade and started laughing nervously. She was walking backwards, lowering her fists and Risa stared her down. The girl turned to walk fast, Risa smiled to herself and went to pick up her bag. She froze, a feeling came over her, it was rage the same rage as before. She left the bag where it was.

The word apology was shouting in her mind and Risa ran to get the girl.

When reaching her she grabbed her round the waist from behind and pushed the blade of her knife against her throat.

"Scream and I'll cut. It may not be big but it'll hurt!" Risa warned with a furious tone.

She dragged her back round the corner, checking the whole time that no one was around. Risa slammed the girl against the wall more rough than last time and held the knife to the front of her throat. The girl started to tremble and she had her mouth open a little.

"What-what do you-you want?" The blonde stuttered.

"I want you to apologise to me little girl" Risa said with a matter of fact air to her voice.

"You are crazy" The girl stuttered again and Risa pressed the blade on her throat again.

"No. You are! You came down an alley to follow me" Risa replied to her and laughed with a hollow sound. "Apologise" She growled at her.

"I'm so-sorry" The girl spoke with a shake to her voice.

"Right good. How old are you?" Risa asked calmly, she released some pressure of the knife on the girl's neck.

"Twen-twenty t-two" She answered very quickly but still stammered.

Risa blinked, she stepped back a little and gave a sympathetic gaze. The girl breathed out like she was experiencing relief from Risa's actions and expression. Risa smiled, shaking her head and laughing in her mind.

"So young and naive. I'll let you go you've learnt your lesson" She said this like an authority figure would say or a mother.

The girl moved from the wall with a smile that spoke some relief, clearly letting her guard down and another mistake to make. Risa thrust her up against the wall wth full force again, pressed the knife against the girl's cheek and spoke with a bitter tone.

"But you aren't you are twenty two, you should know better. Calling another woman a slut, acting like a child and thinking you have power over me. You have none over me sweetheart. You think with your pretty bright blue eyes and bleach blonde hair I can't see the truth inside you. You are bitter, disgusting and you think you are better than anyone else" Risa stared into her eyes and continued. "So here's your lesson, those pretty eyes, that hair you are so obviously proud of I hope they will be helpful to you because well..."

Risa clamped her left hand over the girl's mouth and scratched the knife blade into her cheek. The blood trickled out, down her face and she felt the girl trying to fight her off. She was too drunk for fighting anyone off at all but she relaxed her grip and the let the girl think she was letting her go. She wasn't and she sliced into the other cheek with the blade.

"To be fair have a matching set" Risa spoke into the girls ear and laughed. She then sang into the girl's ear: "You taunt, you haunt. Slut you said, you bleach head. You taunt, you haunt. Stupid little girl!"

Risa left the girl against the wall, in shock and trembling. Risa picked up her bag of food, walked a fast pace away and ran with her adrenaline that kicked in with a grin on her face.

Revenge was sweet.


	4. CHAPTER 4 - Diamonds

CHAPTER 4

-Diamonds-

...

Risa sat on the floor of her living room staring at the graffiti above the fire place. She'd have to get some paint for it, Risa had come home properly now and stayed for the past four days in the house without leaving. She fiddled with the a strand of her black fluffy rug, whilst chewing her lip. She wasn't happy at all, she was trying to think of what to do about the gang that had killed her family and tried to murder her. Risa had the name of the gang as a starting point, she knew they were called The X Syndicate and she supposed that was better than knowing nothing. Looking at the red paint writing made her twitch at times, her anger was increasing due to it and she had avoided the room for about two days. Just so she could get more tranquil but it was boring in her room without a TV. You can only read the same comics over and over again and also her concentration with reading was up and down. Sometimes her racing mind got in the way of the words she read and she'd have to give up on reading entirely.

Risa stood up, went right in front of the spray painted wall and took in a deep breath.

"I suppose it would be better to paint over this than keep staring at it" She spoke with an annoyed tone and focused her attention to Candyfluff who she had placed on the sofa.

She sat down next to the toy on the sofa, was tapping her right foot on the wood floor and muttering to herself about what paint colour to use. Candyfluff slowly toppled over from his seated position and Risa picked him up, bringing the soft toy into a cuddle. The smile on her face was one of comfort and almost love.

"Suppose we better go get some paint then and stuff" She spoke to the rabbit again, she held onto Candyfluff's left arm and made her way to the hallway mirror.

Risa was currently wearing a pair of dark navy jeans and a black vest with a cartoon vampire on it. She agreed to herself that she looked decent enough for the outside world and just put her hair up into a messy bun. She grabbed her PVC spiky backpack as she headed out the back door, hailed a taxi after she walked the road a little and got them to drive her to the nearest place that sold paint.

Paying the driver, she stepped out onto the pavement and looked about her. Not many people were around today, just the way she liked to shop: quiet and practically alone. Risa entered the store, looked down the aisles until she found the right section and looked along the shelves of wall paint tubs. She hummed under her breath and was trying to decide between two shades of purple. She adored purple, also bright pink, black and any dark version of colours but she wanted to go with purple for the wall.

"Would you like any help?" A young man's voice came from behind her.

It was a member of staff, she forced a smile and said she was fine. She wanted to be left alone in all honesty and tried not to get snappy.

At this Risa took out her cd player, pressed play and stuck the ear phones in her ears. Least this way no one would bother her much, she could only hope anyway.

Standing for a little while summing up the pros and cons of the colours, she went for the darkest purple they sold. Because after all she'd have to cover the red spray paint on the wall and a dark colour would do this better logically.

She went round and collected a few more things in the store including a new mop which she had to buy with a purple handle of course. Risa paid for the things at the counter, there was an amusing moment where when she went to get her wallet out her bag, Candyfluff nearly fell out and Risa had to push him back in the bag. The lady gave a strange look towards her but let her pay and go without any questions about the rabbit in her bag.

"Some people" She muttered under her breath. "Like I could leave without my bunny! He's been through enough trauma like I have. To be left alone at home would be awful"

A few people looked at her as she said this to herself and Risa ignored them, putting her head high as she walked. She was now heading to the Gotham City Bank , to check over her current money and to see the guy she met at the club. It slipped her mind what his name was right at this moment in time but it was a minor detail to her. After a while of strolling to the bank, she was out of breath but at least it was cheaper than a taxi or any other means of transport.

Risa made her way through the Gotham City Bank doors, walked over to a cash machine to check her current balance and then went to print a statement from another machine. Looking around she tried to find the guy she saw at the club the other night and wasn't having much luck.

"Risa?" A male voice came from a few meters away and she knew it was him already.

He came towards her, he was of course wearing the bank uniform and she noticed now that his hair was a light brown colour, his eyes a darker brown. In the club she couldn't figure out those details and she was tipsy as well when meeting him. Risa looked at his name tag without him seeing as another work colleague passed him an envelope and they briefly spoke.

"So how are you Kurt?" Risa spoke with a gentle smile and closed some distance between them.

"Great, just working ya know" He replied and sighed a little. "Busy day today, been hell"

Risa nodded at him, just to acknowledge his complaint about his job and she swung the bag off her back. He seemed surprised at her choice of bag and Risa she shrugged it off. Rummaging around a little in it she found a money bag full of change she wanted to put in to her account.

"Any chance you could show me how to deposit this into my account?" She asked with a sweet little smile towards him and he gestured her to follow him to another area of the bank.

"Not seen you in the club" Kurt said with a manner that suggested he was concerned or just disappointed.

She smiled a sly smile to herself, as they stopped at a machine and she turned to face him.

"Yeah been having some alone time. But I was thinking of seeing you" Risa gave him a flirty smile and brushed a hand down his arm.

He instantly looked flushed across his face, he began to explain how to use the machine as if he needed a distraction to stop his embarrassment. Risa took in everything he was saying, she did the step by step process as if she didn't know how to do this already. After she finished depositing the money into the machine, she withdrew her card and to the left of her noticed a man swinging a carrier bag in his hand. He was acting like he was impatiently waiting for something, Kurt went over to him to probably ask if he was ok and Risa watched. The man pulled something plastic, oval shaped out the bag and then she realised what it was. It was mask, a clown mask which the man swiftly put on his face and brought a gun out of his jacket. He pointed it at Kurt, flicking the safety off and Kurt froze in his tracks.

"Ok, OK! This is a stick up! Everyone down on the floor! EVERYONE!" A loud booming voice shouted from the Bank's main doors.

Risa swirled on the spot to see more men or women, holding guns and with clown masks. She did the smart thing, went to her knees and just looked around the room. Some people shrieked loudly, some screamed and others were silent. Everyone got to their knees, she noticed one lady fainted and a few of the clown masked people were heard laughing about it. Risa was one of the silent ones, she was in all honesty panicking inside a small amount but mostly she was curious about this. Kurt had mentioned to her that the Bank had robberies before but she had never seen one in front of her and it was kicking her adrenaline up slightly.

"All right you lot, to the wall!" One clown mask bellowed to one half of the room and another did the same to the other side of the room.

All the robbers with guns had taken the weapons off the security guards already and Risa noticed the alarm wasn't going off. The security for the doors seemed to be working though as metal covers came down over the main doors and now you couldn't see outside unless you counted the one window in the place which was the sky light. Risa was moved to a wall just the same as the others, she was tied with rope so her hands were behind her back just like everyone else and she sat watching everything.

Suddenly a strange music started playing that sounded like circus music, Risa figured out the noise was from a clown masked man with a boombox and then the sky light glass smashed. Risa bowed her head and back forwards sharply with closed eyes to avoid any glass hitting her. She reopened them to see a red rope hanging from the ceiling and a figure coming down it. It was a woman in a red and black jester suit that was climbing down. As the lady came closer into view by landing on the floor with grace, Risa could then see she also had on a black mask with white face paint and black lipstick.

She recognised her from somewhere and she couldn't quite place where at this time. Risa watched her with interest as the woman took a small plastic tube out the satchel she had and then blew into it. It was a party horn, a few people jumped at the abrupt sound and muttered a few things in response to the noise.

"Ahem!" Said the red and black jester lady purposely clearing her throat as she looked around at the tied up people. "Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls!" She spoke loudly, with a slight high pitch to her voice and looked up to the skylight.

A purple rope was now hanging down from the skylight, another figure was climbing down now and Risa could see a shade of purple on them.

"I present to you! The one! The only! The funniest funny man in the whole of Gotham! In the whole of the universe! Thhhhe" The jester lady continued to speak, she made a dramatic pause and the purple suited man then landed from the rope next to her. "JOKER!" She spoke with excitement and waved her hands at him.

The man had bright green, short hair and he looked like he also had face paint on because his face was extremely white too. His smile was huge with red lipstick and Risa assumed this must be where the clown mask ideas came from: him.

He said something to the jester lady with a smile and the lady started to look angrily around her.

"What? No applause!" Jester lady said in a raging tone, she dropped the party horn on the floor and put her hands in fists.

"Harleeyyy, Harlllss" The green haired man put his hand on her shoulder and she looked at him with a calmer expression. "They are a little tied up at the moment, but they are BOUND to laugh when I want them too!" The man spoke with a viscous manner, he did a high pitch , cackling laugh and glared dagger looks at the people in the room.

Risa heard and saw a few people were forcing themselves to laugh, others followed suit. She frowned, then a gun was in her face and she faked a laugh herself. She did find it a little funny even though it was a poor joke to her.

She started thinking about how she should be stressed or in shock and not finding this so interesting. She didn't like being tied up that was for sure, by some unknown guy in a clown mask and Risa wasn't very happy about the gun in her face. Mostly because she couldn't see what was going on and then the man decided to stand right in front of her. She started to lean to the right to see what was happening and then finally the man moved anyway.

"So now we have a CAPTIVE audience" The Joker spoke with a whimsical tone. "Let's begin" He nudged the jester called Harley, she pulled out a sheet of paper and started to read from it.

"Mistah J wants to get some new gadgets. But he has no money" Harley read, she looked at a clown masked woman and the woman held a sign that said 'Ahhh'. People then went 'ahhh' on command including Risa. Harley continued to speak. "So he needs some cash quick, so we want the bank to lend us some" She then folded up the piece of paper, touted on her party horn and Joker threw her a glare.

"Is that it!? Is that ALL you wrote?!" He yelled at her, she edged away as he started to move towards her slowly with a very angry look on his face and a pointing finger.

"Well I was...I was gonna. Uhh improvise Mistah J" She spoke stuttering her words and looking sheepish.

Joker grabbed both ears of her jester cowl, pulled her to him and was nose to nose with her.

"Improvise! IMPROVISE! We haven't got time for that!" He shouted in her face and she winced.

Joker let go of her cowl ears, Harley bit her lip as he looked at the watch round his wrist and he broke into a smile.

"Ok boys it's go" He spoke into a handheld radio that he lifted from his hip to his face and started to laugh. "How about we have a volunteer from the audience?" He flew his arms up in the air and glanced over his 'audience'. "Hell let's have a few!" He added and waited for a response.

Risa sat quietly watching Harley playing with the pom pom on her cowl to check it wasn't ruined and then Harley walked towards the row of people against the opposite wall to Risa. She pointed to one man who was trembling and Joker made his way over to him.

"Say, what job do you do?" Joker asked and grinned.

"I, I, I f-fix clocks" The plump man stuttered, his brow was slick with sweat and the blonde hair on his head was too.

"Perfect" Joker said with a dark tone and Harley pulled the man off the floor by his t shirt.

Harley stopped in the middle of the room with him and got him to kneel down again. People around started to gasp, worried what would happen to the man next.

"It's ok chum, you will stay here and the rest... well... They can help us out of here" Joker patted the man on the head and the guy flinched.

Risa knew what he meant about them needing more people as hostages to get out but the man in the middle of the room she didn't understand yet what his purpose was. It made her very curious, she was looking at the man and then Joker and Harley was then in front of her. Joker joined her as they walked up and down the row of hostages she was in. Joker was making humming noises and studying each person he looked at in the row.

"Any volunteers? You won't get shot. Mind you I can't make any promises. Those cops have itchy trigger fingers" Joker said and started cackling.

Risa found herself slowly standing up, she had to be careful as her arms were tied and she turned to both of them.

"I volunteer" She spoke with a matter of fact tone.

Joker and Harley were somewhat surprised as they turned to face who spoke. Risa stood with an attitude that she was just volunteering for handing out leaflets or something.

"Wow, Puddin' that hasn't happened before!" Harley exclaimed, looking at Risa with a quizzed expression and Joker walked over to Risa.

He was very tall but Risa was only five feet six so most men were tall to her but this guy was extremely tall. She tried not to find it intimidating as he studied her with his bright toxic green eyes, from this close she was sure his skin was naturally that white. The smile he had, well no way that was natural or normal for any person, his teeth were yellowed and he now grinned at her. She was looking at him just as if he was just a stranger, not some unusual looking person and also not a criminal that was committing a Bank robbery.

"You got spunk kid. I give you that! Welcome to the party" Joker put his hand to her back and pushed her along to where the other man was in the center of the room. He then noticed her vest with a vampire on and smiled. "Ever heard this one? What do you get if you cross a goth and a toilet?"

Risa raised her eyebrows at him and said: I don't know.

"The cisterns of mercy!" He laughed and naturally everyone else in the room did too against their will.

The thing that disturbed her most was the fact when she laughed it was meant, Risa cast her eyes around the room and was admiring the sheer genius of this robbery. The theatrical nature of it made her feel good inside and she turned her attention to Harley. She was sitting on a chair she had dragged from somewhere, just blowing bubbles with bubblegum and looked quite relaxed. Risa noticed the huge popgun now in Harley's hand and was even more intrigued.

Where on earth would she get a gun like that? Did she make it? Fashion it from a toy or something? Did it actually fire anything but the huge cork in it and how funny to have a cork inside. She could tell these guys were all about humour, as well as getting what they wanted and I suppose to the average Joe they were dubbed as insane.

Now the Joker had asked the rest of the masked gang to collect a few more hostages that they would need to escape. As Kurt had said, hostages made it easier for them and he was probably right. Risa wasn't sure as to why she volunteered but for some reason her mind had decided and the deep curiosity inside wanted her too.

Risa noticed that Kurt was now standing up, he was along the same wall Risa use to be before she was moved to where she was now and she opened her mouth in small 'o' in surprise.

Ok maybe this guy was brave like he said at the club or perhaps dumb.

"Let the lady go" Kurt spoke loud but his voice cracked at the end of the sentence.

"Oh?" Joker focused on him, took a few steps towards him and folded his arms. "And which lady is that?" He asked for further information.

Kurt blinked a few times, he seemed to have lost his nerve but forced himself to carry on with what he was saying.

"The, the one y-you t-t-took" He stuttered out to him and was shaking all over.

No he wasn't brave at all he was just very dimwitted and Risa was even more surprised. Yes she was in slight shock over this, not the robbery or the guns and masked people. She was shocked over this guy standing up asking for her to be let free, a man she hardily knew and a man who owed her nothing at all.

"Well, well. Looks like we have a hero. Bring him here boys" The Joker chuckled, he got two men to drag Kurt to him and then Joker pulled out a very long gun.

Risa had never seen a firearm that long, it looked like some kind of old western type gun but it was really extended. Kurt saw the gun and he started shaking more than he already was to begin with. The fear in his eyes was also painfully obvious and he was about a meter from Risa and she could clearly see his face.

"So this girl would you die for her?" Joker raised his gun to point it straight at Kurt's head some inches away.

"L-let her go and h-have m-m-me instead" He replied with.

"Aww! How romantic! Jee Boss, maybe we should put him outta his misery, the poor guy" Harley piped up and came over to Joker.

The Joker cackled with his head up and his eyes closed. When he returned his attention to Kurt again, he pointed the gun properly at him once more and he pulled the trigger. Risa just stared as this happened, she couldn't fathom why on earth he'd bother risking himself for her at all and what happened next surprised her more. A loud pop came from the gun, then a bang flag was seen hanging from a stick that slid out the gun barrel. As Joker and Harley giggled until their tummies hurt Risa found her own mouth slightly curling into a smile which she tried to hold back.

"Ok, enough of him. Take him away" Joker waved his hand at Kurt and hardily looked at him.

Risa turned her attention back onto Harley, but Harley actually noticed this and came over with hands on hips. She didn't know what to say, how to put into words all she was thinking whilst watching her and the Joker.

"What ya looking at?" Harley questioned her with attitude and a frown.

"Nothing" Risa replied simply and licked her lips.

"Your boyfriend's a real Romeo aint he?" Harley said and for some reason sat down next to Risa crossed legged.

The Joker at this time was busy talking on a radio, sometimes shouting at who ever he was in conversation with but he wasn't looking their way now.

"He isn't my boyfriend love. He's just some guy from a club I met one night" Risa replied in a bitter tone. "He's a pratt. Please don't make small conversation with me either"

Harley tilted her head, looking at her with a wide eyed expression and then smiled.

"You got some guts lady. But no one talks to me like that" Harley's voice went angry and she put the popgun against the side of Risa's head.

She sat still, feeling the pressure of the cork against her hair and then turned her head to the left to face the cork. Risa looked Harley in the eyes with an empty look.

"Do it" She said her tone just as empty as her eyes.

Harley's fierce look turned into a confused one, she pulled the cork gun away and studied Risa.

"You got a real death wish aint ya. Why's that?" The jester asked her.

Risa was trying to think of a reply when Joker called Harley over to him in a very aggressive manner.

Why was she basically asking to be not only kidnapped by a clown gang but then wanted to be shot by one of them? Risa couldn't decide if it was the thrill or she was desperate to die or both at the same time. All she knew was part of her was enjoying this whilst about more than forty other people around her were terrified of this whole affair. Some of the volunteers were silent crying, one had the hiccups and Risa was finding that funny. It was all funny in some obscure way to her, she sat and watched the whole bank robbery play out like it wasn't real to her.

Risa looked up at the clock and about twenty minutes had passed since it began. She imagined the police outside trying to form a plan to get in and rescue the hostages. But in all honesty protecting the bank's money was more important to them than lives and Risa had first hand experience of lives meaning little with the police. People were just collateral damage to them and it made her sick to the stomach thinking about it.

Bags were being dragged into the center of the room near her and the other volunteers. Joker took something bulky out of his pale grey duffle bag, it looked like dynamite sticks tapped together, it had a black box on the front and a picture of Joker's face above that. He got one of the men to hold it to the man's chest who was now sobbing, whilst the Joker used some black tape to secure it to the hostage. After wrapping enough tape round, the Joker started to laugh hysterically and then stopped to breathe. He wiped a tear from his eye and stood away from the man who was now in complete shock.

"You'll be blown away by this one, time might not be on your side any longer clock man" Joker brought a black box with buttons on out of his purple tailcoat jacket.

The Joker pressed a button on it, the number 800 lit up in a bright red on the black box attached to the dynamite. He started to laugh again and put the remote back in the jacket he wore.

"Tick tock, times a tickin" Harley giggled and she cartwheeled over to Joker.

"Maybe you can use some of that energy to... GET THE BAGS!" Joker boomed at her and she shrugged.

"Sure Puddin!" She replied with a huge smile.

Harley walked over obediently to the pile of bags and dragged a bag of the money along. She fixed it onto a grapple hook with a rope attached with two other bags, waved up at the sky light to signal it was ready and someone started pulling the bags up at fast speed. Risa saw there was over ten of these ropes all pulling bags upwards in lots of three and she was in awe.

Joker was standing surveying his masked robbers and Harley the jester do the hard work. He looked at his watch a few times, keeping track everything was happening correctly and then was talking on his radio on and off.

Suddenly there was a thud, some people screamed and Risa looked around her. Not far away from her was a body laying on the floor crumpled and broken. It was a police man who either was pushed into the bank via the skylight or fell somehow.

Risa found she didn't even feel sick about it but considering that she had killed recently that would be why. The blood wasn't bothering her but maybe the way the body was contorted was a bit strange to say the least. Yet still she was feeling a form of fascination about it and she didn't know if she should be worried or scared about this.

Whilst Risa was alone with her thoughts a police man had slipped down one of the ropes hanging from the ceiling and was about to attack the Joker. Risa saw the red and black dressed jester lady, run towards the police man and she tripped him up. The police guy stood up in a fighting stance, Harley flipped over him with ease and planted a kick to his back. He fell face first to the floor with a grunt and Joker shot him in the head with the police man's own gun.

Risa was amazed at Harley's elegance, the way she moved so swiftly and took the man down was some what admirable. It was obvious this lady wasn't just some girl bossed around, wasn't just part of this robbery to lug bags around and that she could actually hold her own in a fight.

Risa then found herself being grabbed from behind by rough hands, being pulled up to her feet and moved along by her right arm. A robber put one of the masks on her, pushed her to a rope that hung from the skylight and released her hands from the ropes that bound her. He stood close behind her, it was too close for her liking and he wrapped an arm round her stomach.

"Make sure you hold onto that rope doll face or you'll have a long way down" The man spoke into her ear and she swallowed. "Wouldn't want a pretty thing like you getting hurt" He then tried to slide a hand slightly up the front of her top.

"Hey!" Harley's voice was heard right next to them and the man jumped.

He let go of Risa instantly and faced Harley.

"Mistah Jay wants you" She ordered him to leave, he walked off saying something under his breath and she stood next to Risa.

Risa found herself looking at Harley properly, her suit was not only red and black but it had diamond shapes on it too also in red and black. She found herself smiling at the pom pom collar she wore and just everything about her looked so much fun.

"He's a creep. Now hold on!" Harley took Risa's hands and put them to the rope.

Risa took a firm grip of the rope like her life depended on it and it did really. The rope speedily went on it's way upwards, Risa could feel the burn in her hands, the pull on her arms and shoulders.

"Grip the rope with your thighs!" She heard Harley shout and Risa responded by doing exactly what she said.

When the rope reached the skylight opening she was dragged onto the roof, her legs scrapped on the edge of the skylight and she hoped no glass entered her legs. She heard the loud sounds of a helicopter, Risa looked around as she was pushed forward by Harley and she saw a copter was circling the roof with spot lights on them. She noticed the police lights and logo on it then someone shouting on a speaker for them to put down their weapons, that it was the Gotham Police Department.

They couldn't tell who to shoot because of the masks, Risa realised this as she was forced to board a helicopter that was waiting in front of her and she looked out the open door when she was finally let go by Harley. Risa saw one of the hostages or robbers get shot by an armed robber. She came to the conclusion it must of been a hostage more than one of their own people that they shot and they could of been struggling against them. She was just glad she was more intelligent to try and fight against them. They were the ones in power, not just with weapons but in number as well and it was never good to take on numbers with guns unless you had some sort of upper-hand.

The door was slid shut, the helicopter lifted off the ground and it made her nervous because she never liked flying. There was a man in front of her now with a mask on, he came towards her with a white rag putting it against her mouth, she smelt something extremely sweet was on it and then was dizzy. Dizziness turned into her completely blacking out.

...

Her vision was fuzzy, her head pounding and she felt detached from her body. Risa could smell food, what food she wasn't sure and she heard talking mixed with laughter. She was sitting on the floor with her legs out in front of her straight, her back up against something and her arms were behind her bound. Not being able to see very well at all it was hard to tell who the figures were at the other end up the room but one of them was walking towards her. She just saw a blob of a human figure, then colours appeared some red and black. It was her, it was Harley the jester from the Bank and a smile was plastered on her face as she came close to Risa's face.

"Hello" Risa slurred to her and tried to focus as much as she could.

"Hey kid" Harley said. "Here look I got you some pain killers. Should stop that head of yours from hurtin" She whispered and gestured two white pills to Risa's mouth.

"Why? Would you help me?" Risa questioned her and moved her mouth away from the pills.

She was confused, very confused as to why it looked like Harley had intervened with the guy who basically tried to molest her earlier and why she was trying to make her feel better.

"Us girls gotta stick together" Harley replied and checked behind her quickly. "Look Mistah Jay's gonna be back any second. Take em and it's just between us gals k?" She whispered to her and Risa could hear in her voice she was nervous.

"Okay" Risa gave in to her pleading and Harley popped them into Risa's mouth.

A glass was put up against her mouth, water poured into her throat and she swallowed the pills Harley gave her. They tasted like paracetamol anyway so she concluded from that she was telling her the truth and she felt relief.

"Huh?" Harley said, stood and turned round. "Oh this ones just awake is all. Just checkin' she isn't dead!" She shouted to who ever was asking questions. "Yeah, yeah I'll keep an eye on them!" She shouted again, then there was the sound of a door slamming.

Risa's head throbbed when Harley shouted and the door slammed.

She closed her eyes as the blur to her vision was making her feel nauseous and she tried to ease some tension in her forehead as much as she could by relaxing.

"What's your name?" Harley's voice came again.

"Risa Diamond" She replied, due to the fact she had no choice but to tell her anyway.

"Harley Quinn here, pleased ta meetcha! I would shake your hand but..." She introduced herself in a bubbly manner and Risa found herself smiling.

"Yeah I'm a bit tied up maybe l..." Risa stopped talking and laughing. "I think, I think I'm going to be... sick"

"Oh boy" Harley exclaimed and ran off.

She came back with a plastic tub and shoved it under Risa's head as she threw up.

"Ergghh" Risa groaned, spitting out the bile in her mouth into the tub after she finished and her body shuddered.

"I'll give ya the rest of the water" She offered the glass to her again and Risa swallowed the water in slow sips. "Here" Harley wiped the sick from her mouth and chin. "So much for the pain killers huh" She said to her with a small chuckle.

"HARLEY!" Joker's voice boomed. "What in the blue blazes are you doing?"

Harley gasped, she swirled round and tried to look innocent.

"I didn't want the place to smell of puke Puddin" She defended herself and ran the with tub to the door.

Joker grabbed her arm, she nearly fell when he did this and he got up close and personal to her.

"What's that broad's name?" He asked Harley and he moved away as he smelt the sick from the tub.

"Risa Diamond" Harley replied instantly and she then left the room.

The lights started to get less and less in the room, Risa thought this was just her eyes at first but then it went pitch black. Had she passed out yet again?

"No, no. Not now! He can't be here already!" She heard Joker complaining very loudly. "Keep your eyes open. Looks like Bats has come to have some laughs"

Risa's anger rose up through her very quickly like a fast flood, it was just the sound of someone mention Batman that sparked it. She found herself listening to every sound around her and heard a lot of co-motion in front meters away. She heard grunts, thuds on the floor, a few men saying swear words and Joker laughing every now and then during all this.

"It's him" She heard a male voice very near her say. "Thank God! He's come to save us!"

Risa found herself wishing inside that it wasn't Batman but it was going to be him, after all wouldn't that be her luck really? To see him a second time and him saving her would be more than humiliating to her.

After all the fighting that was clearly going on in front and out of her view range, she then heard boots stomping towards her, she could hardily see them but saw red eyes and as they cut her ropes a voice he spoke.

"Miss Diamond it looks like trouble follows you" Batman commented and he cut the other hostages loose.

Male voices were heard saying thank yous to him, she was clearly the only one in the room who wasn't thankful for this rescue. Risa was disappointed in the fact it was Batman, she had wished it was one of the other numerous crime fighters of Gotham or rebels that saved her. It was infuriating to say the least that he saved her today and yet not before.

"I have a lead on the ones who burnt your house" Batman informed her.

"Oh really" Risa said with a sarcastic tone, she tried to fold her arms and was completely uncoordinated.

"Have you heard of The X Syndicate?" Batman asked her and she rolled her eyes.

"Yep, they killed my family. I have known all along it was them" She replied with a tone of bitterness.

"Do you know if they had issues with your family Miss Diamond?" He asked her, he was surprised she knew the name of the gang.

"No idea apart from being a bunch of evil pieces of..." Risa stopped talking when she heard police car sirens outside and Batman had disappeared when she turned back round.

She stood with her hands in fists, digging her nails into her palms and her breathing was all over the place. Minutes passed, the police entered the building shining flashlights into the dark trying to find the hostages and criminals. Joker and Harley Quinn were no where to be seen, though many of the fellow robbers that were working with them were tied up by Batman and not happy about being hauled off by the police. Some went quietly, some were shouting threats at the police officers and Risa was laughing at some of the things they said. She found herself being escorted outside to a paramedic to check her over, they then had to convince her to get into the ambulance and go to the hospital. She decided to agree when she was sick again due to the dizziness she kept experiencing and reluctantly got into the vehicle.

...


End file.
